Monthly Archives: April 2009

A few months ago I had been asked by Classic Shaving to evaluate a new razor design that would use Feather injector-style single-edge blades. For lack of an official name at the time I nicknamed it the “Godzilla” razor because of its large size and tendency to draw blood unless you were very, very careful. My assessment after several weeks was a cautious endorsement…I described the razor as a straight-edge masquerading as a safety razor. When Classic Shaving failed to launch the product after several months I assumed it was dead. But I noticed today that it has in fact been introduced under the “Cobra” brand (appropriate I think, given the razor’s tendency to unpredictability). At $125 it also carries a pretty hefty price, but if you like to live on the edge, this may well be the razor for you.

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I’ve been reading a lot about olive oil lately and in particular how high heat destroys it both nutritionally and taste-wise. I must admit that my mother and grandmother never fried with olive oil, preferring seed-oils instead and their higher heat tolerance. Olive oil was used in salads and added to a dish as it cooked, but never for browning and pan frying. I guess they knew a thing or two.

Since we rarely use any seed oils in our house, everything is cooked either in olive oil or pure butter. But what I’ve been reading and remembering from my family gives me some pause. So yesterday I tried a totally different technique of my own fabrication (although I’m sure I’m not the only one doing it). I was inspired in part by the movie Goodfellas and the scene where the garlic is being shaved with a razor blade so that it will literally melt into the sauce.

I was preparing my slightly adapted version of Kalofagas recipe for Garlic Makaronia with Mostra but rather than saute the garlic and other ingredients as usual, I put the oil in the pan, added the shaved garlic, cherry tomatoes, hot pepper flakes, and fresh parsley, and then set the element to very low, i.e. #2 on the ten-setting dial. I left it there for an hour, stirring only occasionally. Holy Garlic Heads Batman! The end result was a chunky sauce unlike anything I’ve ever had. The ingredients had infused the oil with so much aroma and flavor that my taste buds could barely believe it…every bite was a new and unearthly sensual experience. You’ve got to try this method!

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kitchen oil fire
Some years ago when we lived in an attached townhouse, our next door neighbor had a kitchen oil fire while making French fries. It caused a lot of damage. Since we almost never deep fry (and on the rare occasions when we do we borrow a friend’s deep-fryer) we really don’t worry much about kitchen fires. We do keep a fire extinguisher under the sink, nevertheless. My recent forray into home-made French fries in a pan did however give me some nervous moments and I must confess to having the fire extinguisher right next to me at the time. I also used a thermometer to monitor the oil temperature and make sure it didn’t reach the ignition point. But all the hot oil spritz flying onto the hot element and everywhere else really got me thinking about what I would do if the whole thing went up.

My friend Yannis in Greece sent this very short video from the British Fire Brigade showing a quick and easy method for putting out a hot oil pan fire.

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Monkey Car Security System#2
If you’ve never seen any of the Trunk Monkey videos, you’re in for a treat. And if you can’t see the humor, at least please don’t send me any comments about how I should have more compassion for car thieves, or that wild animals shouldn’t be exploited for commercials (apparently the chimp is the highest paid actor in the whole series!).

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The first thing I do every morning after my coffee is to pop over to Leisureguy’s blog and see what’s new. There’s always something of interest, often from the late-night before because of the three-hour time difference between our two coasts. The “fresh” stuff doesn’t start rolling in before 10 AM Eastern Time, and I go back to his site several times a day to catch up. I also do this with a few other blog sites, although with less regularity and frequency. It suddenly struck me this morning that blogging has become the new form of what used to be called “civilized” conversation, i.e. an intelligent, polite (mostly), respectful discussion, without interruption. I may comment on some of his posts and return a few hours later to find responses to my comments. Having to write down one’s comments and responses engenders a certain thoughtfulness, often missing from face-to-face conversations. And if you want your comment to actually show up on the other person’s blog, well, you’ve got to make sure that it is reasonably polite and bereft of venom.

Many people rant about how technology has depersonalized the world, with kids mired in video-game unreality, adults speaking aimlessly into the air as they walk and talk into their Bluetooths, while others are zoned out listening to music on their iPods as they cross the street and get hit by the bus. But in my humble opinion, technology has simply reconfigured the way humans interact with each other while creating new ways to do old stuff…you just have to have an open mind and look for the opportunities.

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I so enjoyed my last two shave with Trumper’s Rose shave cream that I’ve left the tub in the shower stall with the intent of using it all week. Maybe that will be my next shaving series, “A week of…..”. Perhaps I’ll combine it with a full week of the same blade, razor and brush combination in order to establish a certain shaving rhythm. I like it!

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My earlier post “Stupidity has few boundaries” was written somewhat tongue-in-cheek. But two days later, there it was on the front page of The Gazette’s special Swine Flu coverage: “Can you still eat pork?”. It’s a good thing that Belgium remains a rather innocuous country…can you imagine what would happen to Brussels Sprouts sales if that nation were to involve itself in some international imbroglio? I remember reading that around the time of 9/11 sales of French fries declined in America because the French had made some apparently disparaging comments about the war on terrorism. Can there really be so many genuinely stupid people in a country like Canada that newspapers need to even address such questions? It’s a good thing they didn’t call it Mexican Flu…can you imagine what would happen to Mexicans in foreign lands? As my wife said upon reading the headlines today, “Gee, I’m surprised there isn’t a headline -Is it safe to speak to Mexicans?”. It is discouraging and I shake my head in amazement.

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One of the unfortunate side effects of AIDS was that many people stopped volunteering to give blood because they had heard that it could be transmitted from needles. AIDS-Needles, two words were all that it took for thousands to conclude that they could get AIDS from any type of needle…no need to look any further.

I was reading this morning about the emerging potential swine flu pandemic coming out of Mexico. I’m going to have to ask my friends in the pork industry whether or not they see a decline in pork consumption over the next few weeks. I predict there will be a drop…..Swine-Flu…must be possible to get it from eating pigs, no?

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Waking around 5 AM today left me with a desire for something different shave-wise…something a little stronger than usual. I dredged out a container of Trumper’s Rose shave cream from the back of the second cabinet, now in exile in the guest room. It contains my “second string” shave products…those that for one reason or another I tend to use less frequently. It is frankly a huge armamentarium and one filled with surprises long forgotten. The Trumper’s container was new. I had hesitated to use it after several admonitions on the various discussion boards that it was so strongly tinted it might stain the shaving brush. No such problem. This is an outstanding cream that produces a thick billowy lather, with the added bonus of a whopping smell that can stir the brain cells into action on a dreary and far too early day. With a brand new Wilkinson Classic blade in the E.J. Chatsworth, a truly sensational shave was had. I’m now ready to drive the Kommandant to her yoga class and spend the morning with the archaeologist daughter hunting exotic foodstuffs and libations at the Jean-Talon Market.

But first, a double cup of Greek coffee while I wait for the Sunday paper to show up somewhere around 7 AM.

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The Publisac guys deliver a huge bag of fliers to our front door every Wednesday. For the last 35 years these have automatically gone into the recycling bin with a grumbled “What a waste of trees” mumbled under my breath each time. “Who actually reads this shit?” I’ve said to my wife on more than one occasion. Well now I know. Me. Yup, I’ve started reading the grocery store fliers ever since I made the commitment to “bottom up” cooking. Why? Because all the grocery stores use “lost leaders” to get people into the store and these lost leaders are often items that are bought in very large quantity in anticipation of moving them very quickly at attractive prices, and usually, great quality. For example, today I bought a two pound bag of the crispest, greenest, freshest looking green beans I’ve ever seen…for $1.85. In fact, I only bought stuff from the flier and believe it or not, my grocery bill was about half of what it usually is for the same number of bags.